If You Were Responsible for Traffic Safety

The current system works. Each time you get behind the wheel, you're making a committment to not just your safety but the safety of your passengers and those around you. You also depend upon the other drivers to be competent drivers also. That they know the rules of the road and the penalties for disregarding them. I would rather someone get a ticket or even removed from the road than to have them involved in a fatal accident.

In 37 years of driving I have had 3 accidents, none my fault, and only 2 warning tickets, none moving violations. I've had 7 cars and put over 300K on each. I love driving. Lately, however, it is becoming more of a chore. Just yesterday I had a guy in a Dodge Ram tailgate me so close that I couldn't see his headlights in my readview mirror. It wasn't fun.

No one would argue that overall the system of traffic enforcement is not beneficial. But you can't blame people for calling a 'cash grab' when law enforcement focuses on easy pickins instead of actual dangerous habits. The revenue created by traffic enforcement is required and hence a certain amount of revenue needs to be collected. How much revenue, for example, would the Burnaby RCMP lose if they put a sign at the bottom of Boundry hill north bound to remind people that even though this road has the look and feel of a highway, the speed limit is actually 50. I call cash grab. I won't deny that texting while driving is very dangerous but how many deaths were caused by people checking an email or directons on their phone at a red light? Ticketing drivers who check their phones at a red light (esp with law enforcement in disguise)... i call a cash grab. I'm sure we could come up with many more examples.

This is not coming from someone who gets a lot of tickets... I don't (2 in the last 20 years) but I'm making the point that in many cases we are justified in calling a cash grab.

No involvement from Insurance providers.

Police dictate how policing is done.

No Radar devices. 

Ride and write system. Fly the flag and enforce ROTR on all road users, automobile, bicycle and pedestrian. 

More Motorcycle police.

No more ICBC funded equipment and or enforcement programs. 

No more speed and or cell phone traps. Keep officers moving and a visible presence.

I have urged this a number of times before. Set up a team of experienced drivers with unblemished records (let's say), 20 years to report dangerous driving; providing license number, make and type of vehicle (where possible), and the time, location and nature of the offense observed. Over a certain time period, a record of these poor driving habits would be established and the individuals in question would be brought to task, warned and possibly fined. Sound like vigilantism? Maybe, but it's what's need now. There are just too many vehicles on the road for the police to handle properly.

@NWimby: reduce speed limit in residential areas to 30km/h; Re-write the Motor Vehucle Act to address cycling in the 21st century.

@MaryAnnM_NW: Trucks would drive in R lane.

Here's a proposal -- instead of the current "points" system where you build up points for each ticket, and it results in an escalating fine...  make people re-take (and PASS) their Driver's Test!!!!  There are WAY too many drivers on the road that shouldn't have passed their test in the first place.  That way people can't simply BUY themselves out of tickets.

THAT will keep the bad drivers off the road, and I think bad drivers will think harder about whether or not they drive dangerously.  Plus, it would mean less cars on the road, less congestion, and more use of transit (thus being much better for the environment!).

Also, more emphasis should be put on ticketing things OTHER than speeding! Speeding by itself isn't dangerous -- it's inconsiderate behaviours in conjunction with speeding that cause problems.  Things like not using turn signals, agressive driving, tailgating, running red lights, etc. should be the focus of enforcement.  

The only reason police focus on speeding is it's the easiest thing to catch -- not because it's the most dangerous.

The present top down approach to traffic safety leaves most of us unhappy with the results.  In my view, the bureaucracies that presently drive the "cash collection" approach to road safety are in a serious conflict of interest situation that is driving us all to distraction! At the end of the day I suggest it all boils down to more money for them as the increased revenues justify increased employees which means they manage a larger group... In my opinion an audit should be done to see just how much public money is being wasted in this way. Check out ICBC upper echelons, police service executives & the office of the superintendant of motor vehicles to follow the money.

Granted that these folks, no doubt at least in part well-meaning, would seem to be sincere in their own beliefs as to traffic solutions. They appear to be convinced of the correctness of their approaches to various aspects of motor vehicle operation & roadway design even as many drivers & pedestrians & cyclists are not! Sadly for most of us travelling BC's roads, they have influenced gullible politicians to accept & implement their concepts. By failing to consult the operators of motor vehicles they risk increasing the already widespread disregard for traffic laws.

Our society simply can't afford to place the number of traffic services constables on the road to enforce laws & regulations that are obviously not respected by the majority of drivers. Without such an increased police presence, I think the ineffectual method of road safety improvement by traffic ticket lottery will continue no matter if financial penalties are vastly increased. Getting rid of the top levels of public servants who are responsible for the present debacle in road safety is probably necessary housecleaning. Starting a process of grass roots consultation on road safety is the path I believe we should  follow. How about a democratic approach to solving this problem rather than elitist one? With the BC provincial election looming let's vote for real change in this crucial aspect of our lives. 

I must be getting old and mean as i don't think they go far enough and honestly believe that the police are giving tickets because that is their job and it one of the few tools they have to make the roads safer.

Tickets are evidently not as large a deterrent as they could be due to the fact that people continue to break the speed limits and traffic regulations even though there is the risk of being financially penalized. If ticket prices were exponential, then i believe the penalty would get to the point that it would force people to obey or not afford to drive.

If there are people that say then only the rich could afford traffic violations then perhaps if the rich drivers broke the law fragrantly it would lead to decent revenue. For everyone else, exponential would be prohibitive enough.

The first traffic violation would be $100. The second would double or $200 the third $400 the fourth $800 the fifth $1600 etc. Similar to the grains of rice on a checker board theory of doubling. The bad driver either drives within the laws or becomes unable to drive due to finances. The fact remains, good drivers that obey the law pay nothing. Repeat offenders pay hefty fines.

The current system does NOT work well at all.  It’s an embarrassment actually.

Not a day passes in this province where I don’t observe some of the worst driving behaviour in Canada, and I’ve lived from coast to coast.  North America in general produces very poor quality drivers, the proof is in our fatality rate that is 3 times higher than the rates in Germany and Japan. Why is this?  Because among other countries with far lower fatality and accident rates,  both Germany and Japan have MANDATORY drivers education programs. 

A driver’s licence in those countries is expensive, costing several thousand dollars to obtain, and their driver’s education programs are intensive, 40 hours in car (again, the courses are mandatory) and up to 80 hours for a motorcycle licence.  This is the course that Canada should be taking. It saves lives, and billions of dollars in insurance claims.  A driver’s licence there is truly a privilege.

Should you opt to take driver’s ed in Canada, even with the renowned Young Drivers of Canada, you receive a paltry 8 hours “in-car” instruction by comparison, and then must follow a very restrictive “graduated” licensing program that actually restricts young people from driving and learning! 

Having driven extensively in both overseas countries, there is very little road rage too.  Drivers signal their intentions properly, do not hang out in the passing lanes on highways, respect bicycles, other slow moving vehicles and pedestrians far more than what I see happen here on a daily basis.

I have no problem with police enforcing road rules and handing out tickets, although compared to Germany and Japan, the fines are relatively low and should be raised here.  I do however have a problem with the selective road rule enforcement we have now.  Not once have I seen or heard of police ticketing a driver for holding up traffic in the passing lane of a highway.  Again, this leads to road rage and weaving, which in turn leads to more road rage and accidents, but the police in BC “don’t want to promote speeding” by ticketing this behaviour, despite a blitz happening right now across the US and most other Canadian provinces. 

On another note, the tolerance for drinking and driving in Japan and Germany is zero.  Zero alcohol in your blood stream. No grey areas, no wondering if you can have one more drink.  0%.  It takes all the guess work out of the equation.  Simple and easy.  If you drink, you just don’t drive.

This was a couple of decades ago but I remember reading an article that one of the Scandinavian countries bases your traffic fine on your income.  People with a lower income pay a moderate fine and people with a higher income pay a higher fine. Not a bad idea, especially for those people with the high end sports cars who think they are entitled to break the speed limit or that the speed limit is only a suggestion. Hit them where it hurts, the wallet.

As a witness to many youtube videos of the driving antics of the Russian public; it’s clear to me that dash cams are a great way to give power to motorists who find themselves victims of other people’s bad driving.

If a country like Russia (which admittedly still has a tenuous justice system) has found success with something as simple as dashboard mounted cameras, imagine how effective they could be in BC. Too many claims get dragged out by “He said, she said” scenarios, but if more people had substantial video evidence to back up their complaints a  lot of the stress following a collision could be eased.

We know that cell phones don’t cut it for providing video evidence. They’re ill equipped for capturing documented footage as they are designed for entertainment purposes. Official dash cams that run as long as the vehicle is in motion would provide much needed assurance while behind the wheel.

Even in a town the size of Kelowna, I routinely find myself witnessing abysmal driving practices on my commute. I personally would very much like to have a third eye watching the road as people cut me off, neglect to signal, run red lights, etc. Rear facing cameras would be welcome as well, as above all else I find other drivers maintain dangerously close following distance in this town. Tailgating is one of the easiest habits to get into, and one of the fastest ways to get into a fender bender.

On a final note we could also gain  perspective on how it’s not just young people driving poorly. I’m a 22 year old guy with my class 5 and I seem to be the only person who knows the correct signaling procedure while approaching roundabouts. I think with continuous, and widespread video recording tech we could gather invaluable research on what needs improvement out on the roads.

All you have to do is drive 3 hours a day, 5 days a week as a Volunteer driver (and I'm a retired professional driver) to observe the attitude of those who don't care what the rules are. The ones that make all the noise about 'Cash Grab' are the ones that have no respect for said rules, yet they whine and complain when they get caught! Too bad! If you don't want to be fined, obey the rules and have some respect for others that drive by the rules.
People talk about re-testing 'Senior Drivers', but a lot of other drivers need re-testing first, with some re-enforcement of proper defensive driving practices.
Note: I'm a retired professional driver who has held various classes of license for almost 60 years (I currently hold classes 5 and 6, having relinquished my class 3 15 years ago, as I could no longer justify personally paying for medical exams to hold a license I didn't require).

Nothing like flashing red/ blue lights to get your attention. The presence of a police car is the best deterrent but they are spread thin and have many other duties.

I would employ many more speed and traffic camera's and  clearly post signage with the penalties, so that drivers know there will be a definite penalty for speeding, red lighting, texting, phoning.etc, I would have the citation delivered as immediately as possible by electronic media or hand delivered to the home address-so that the infraction and penalty are linked _"soon , certain consequences are more likely to change behaviors"

After a certain number of citations, a mandatory defensive driving course should be required and retest. Car insurance rates could be related to the driving infractions.

Sorry, no positive re-enforcement for safe drivers-just lower insurance rates.

-All fines would be increased, likely double or more. I dont know when the last increase was, but it should at least reflect inflation.

-Automated enforcement would be heavily invested in, with communities receiving discrete mobile units and training. The tickets would not be contestable. If the video shows you speeding, or any other traffic violation, and you are the registered owner, then you are fined. Units would also be made available for road construction activities and in larger communities one would be dedicated for use during towing and recovery operations. Fine for this would be closer to those seen in Ontario. $500 first offence, $1000 second offence, $2000 third offence. If you are stopped by a peace officer and positively identified as the driver, demerit points would be included in the fine.

-Expand the ability to enforce the MVA to Bylaw officers and non-police officers who obtain special training to do so. Currently RCMP have no time for traffic enforcement and drivers dont realize how risky, and illegal, their behaviors have become.

-Devices that install in a vehicle's electronics port and measure speed, acceleration, deceleration (hard braking) and other measurable driving behaviors would be mandatory, and entitle driver to get 15% off insurance, however bad behavior would increase their premiums and continued dangerous driving readings would result in loss of license.

=Speeding in school zones, construction zones, exceeding 35 kph in residential areas, passing dangerously, failure to yield to pedestrians, fail to stop at stop sign or red light would all come with a $500 fine and 3 points for first occurance, double fine and double points for second and third offence, make them walk for a year if they ever get a third offence and anything after that would include addition year license revocation.

-Slow down move over would be expanded to include any vehicle on the shoulder of the highway with its four way flashers / hazard lights activated.

-semi trucks would be limited to 10 kph under posted speed limits. If it takes you 2 city blocks to come to a stop, why are you getting away with driving 20 kph over the speed limit?

-volunteer, paid-on-call firefighters and SAR will be granted permission to use up to green flashing lamps in their personal vehicles - if installed so that they are visible from 360 degrees around the vehicle and only used when using an electronic air horn - for use while responding to the hall for emergencies. Anyone who fails to move over and allow passage is issued a fine. They would be given emergency vehicle status pending completion of a driver training program and annual vehicle inspection. Dash cameras will be required and footage saved by the chief for a minimum 3 months. Fire chief/SAR chief can revoke a member's ability to use the light if there is a complaint and evidence. 

-Fire/Rescue/SAR chiefs/deputy chiefs and captains will be able to have red and while flashing lamps in their personal vehicles, with similar requirements as above

-Vehicles that provide roadside assistance to motorists will be allowed to have blue and amber flashing lamps displayed when parked on the roadside or on the road, provided assistance. This includes tire services, fuel delivery, tow trucks, traffic control etc.

-using an electronic device while driving fines will be increased to $500 and 3 points - first offence, $1000 and 6 points - second offence, third offence will be like a DUI - walk for a year. Enforcement will be carried out by discrete vans that have cameras pointed at drivers. Footage will be reviewed and sent with the ticket to the driver. No disputing it in court.

-drivers will be required to activate four way flashers when they enter a construction zone or approach an accident scene. This will alert other drivers and show that they understand they are to be on their best behavior.

-driving with something obscuring your license plate (bike rack etc) will result in a vehicle compliance inspection and a stern warning. Anything after that is a big fine.

-improperly aimed headlights that blind drivers will be dealt with roadside and fines issues. vehicle towed, inspection in 1 week and again 6 weeks and 12 weeks after.